female highlight role. twenty women, that is a record in the senate. >> i do not remember hearing this record. >> when they care about something, they will fight. >> the reality is, the genders are different, that does not mean we are not equal. >> i have a feeling i will not agree with them. stuart: i got my word in edgewise. dagen and connell, it is yours. connell: thank you, stuart. good morning, everybody. dagen: $1.5 billion is what ubs is forking over. we are moments away from a news conference from attorney general holder. connell: forget what you are hearing about the president and the speaker of the house being close to a negotiation.

dagen: you can finally get there from here. walt mossberg on why google iphone maps app is so fantastic. connell: we both have it and it was desperately needed. dagen: i love maps. i am very, very happy. i am a very boring person. connell: walt will have his full review. let's go now to the new york stock exchange. lauren simonetti. >> this stock started the day higher. it actually took out a new annual high. the financials came out strong. they are down now. in fact, the only sector that is higher is energy. we await this press conference

now. they become the second bank to settle regulations. we are down. the blue-chip average up by triple digits. they have not seen a back-to-back gain like that since july. the s&p 500 was up by 1% both monday and tuesday. there is still hope down here on wall street that u.s. lawmakers will have a deal. we are kind of to the downside. with that, i will send it back to you guys. dagen: what can we expect volume to look like? >> typically, any traders take the week off. a couple of days off. you have a lower volume. yesterday, there was a lot of conviction. volume was up considerably based

on the one-week average. it has been a little bit better than usual. dagen: thank you so much, lauren. we will give people comments when they start. the white house saying president obama will veto the gop's plan b for the fiscal cliff saying it does not meet balance. douglas holtz aiken, former director of the budget office, joining us with more. if not now, then when the heck? >> hopefully by december 31. i think it is very important for us to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. all bad news for americans. you like to think that they are getting closer to gather. the fact that the white house

rejected a plan b is not good. dagen: $1 trillion raised in revenue by congressman boehner's plan. that is pretty close, is it not remark it is true that the numbers have gotten closer together over time. there are two problems with that. they are pretty shaky. the further they are all part on numbers, that is how it appears. they are interested in tax reform, not just jacking up rates. the white house is not on that page yet. dagen: it is great to see you. happy holidays.

hope to see you soon. we want to go to attorney general eric holder right now in washington. >> felony wire fraud for engaging in a scheme to manipulate the libor rate. the company has agreed to plead guilty to this charge. to its criminal conduct and to pay a $100 million fine. ubs ag (company has agreed to pay a penalty of $400 billion to the united states government. combined with roughly $1 billion in regulatory penalties and disgorgement, these criminal fines and penalties bring today's total resolution to

approximately $1.5 billion. the nonprosecution agreement illustrates the significant steps ubs has taken to help investigate libor misconduct. and it reflects the department determination to rigorously enforce criminal laws and enforce our willingness to bring criminal charges under these laws when they are supported by the facts. additionally, in a second complaint, two former ubs traders have been charged with conspiracy. one of these individuals has also been charged with wire fraud and and antitrust violation in connection with these activities. to spread false information,

they manipulated the benchmark interest rate on which any consumer products, including credit cards, student loans and mortgages are frequently faced. they defrauded the company's counterparties of millions of dollars and they did so primarily to increase profits and to secure figure bonuses for themselves. it is an climatic of the critical work that is being led by the financial fraud task force. the task force represents the biggest in the broadest coalition of investigators. connell: attorney general eric holder out of washington today. it is a big announcement agai bd

$1.5 billion in fines and penalties agreed upon. libor rates overseas and to individuals charged in connection with this as well. more on this throughout the day. we just wanted to bring you some of those little comment from the attorney general. we now will bring in bob doll. bob is the chief acuity strategists. bob, it is always good to see you. you sound like you are fairly optimistic about the stock market. explain to us why? >> i think the asset choice by default almost that your cash is zero and if the view of the world is okay and it will grow a little bit and that financial

problems -- a little bit of earnings growth, maybe a little bit of multiple improvement. connell: where is the economic growth going to come from? there will be some drug on the economy from the cuts and spending, you would think. it is just a matter of how much. >> our guess is that fiscal cliff and nothing done is a- four to gdp. they will end up doing something that will make it minus 1.5. when they get the rules, they

are more likkly to be able to plan their future and that they have somebody hire a worker, expand a plant somewhere and maybe we have a little bit of growth. connell: there is a case to be made that it is better to have a good deal, i am sorry, it is better to have no deal at all than a bad deal. it sounds like maybe you think the opposite. >> the fine print does matter. no question about it. i would argue it was better than the nothing we had since simpssn bowles. if the republicans and the democrats are going to agree, they will both compromise and get some of what they want. i would still argue that probably most deals they come up with would be better than no deal at all.

connell: bob, thank you. >> have a good one. thank you. dagen: a dead deal -- is no deal actually better than a bad one? connell: that is the big question. then, we will get to this story about google maps. it is back on the iphone. walt mossberg is here. he seems to like it. he will tell us why. that is all coming up. first, let's take a look that oil today and see how it is shaping up. we are getting back closer to $90. ♪.

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♪ connell: making all the money and, of course, that means charles payne is here. dagen: did we the american taxpayer make any money on this investment? charles: so far, it looks like we are still going to lose. we will lose $7 billion. that is better than the 25 billion someone said a few

months ago. gm, i think that is a good deal. let's face it, i honestly do not think they have used as much capacity as they used earlier. having said that, i am worried about general motors. what's his take last month numbers. month over month, it was down 5%. inventories at the highest level since april 2009. dagen: silverado problems. 2014 just unveiled a. that is why you have a sales problem. people are waiting for the new vehicles. charles: across the platform, they do have certain issues. i was really surprised by the action of the market.

we will go into it a little bit more with the silverado. dagen: it is a little past quarter past the hour. >> the stock is up 3%. they are out with their latest earnings. profits actually missed expectations. one of the reasons is because of interruptions by super storm sandy. with that being said, it would have been a decent earnings report. there is a shift going on. a down shift. customers are not paying as much for the special services anymore. that is where they are seeing some weakness. we have the dow down six points right now. the s&p is off about 1.5.

the first 30 minutes of trading, the dow crossed the unchanged mark 35 times. back to you. dagen: thank you, lauren. connell: we are talking about mortgage rates which are actually on the highs. bernanke, is he the one to give thanks for around the holidays and what will his holiday gift be? dagen: google maps back on the iphone. walt mossberg really loves it and says it has some better features in the google maps for android phones. he will tell you all about it coming up. take a look at world currencies as we go to break. ♪ tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 this morning, i'm going to trade in hong kong.

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connell: breaking news out of washington. i use that term very loosely because nothing is going on. the fiscal cliff talks seem to never and. no negotiations. no negotiations between the white house.

you would postpone if there is no budget deal. look for a postponement there. the lines of communication, we get this line all the time, the lines of communication is open, the problem is they are not being used. dagen: we have seen mortgage rates recently had a back up just a little bit. they are still near record lows, however. you can think bernanke this holiday season for that. how dangerous is this, anthony? >> well, there is two aspects of it. you may want to call bernanke by pushing rates down so low that it is great for a lot of american households.

the bad news is he is also the grinch. he is pushing potential inflation to the roof if the banks ever start lending money all mortgages, which they are not. dagen: at the same time, keeping interest rates oh, so low, they are not under the gun to really do anything. >> you take a look at the amount of money they will buy things with over the year, there will be a little over $1 trillion. i would call bernanke the great enabler. he is enabling congress and the administration to do nothing. they can actually sit there and do something trivial on the

fiscal cliff and they will just continue doing what they are doing. dagen: when does it break? it will not be 2015 or after bernanke's term is over? >> right now, everyone knows rates actually have to be pushed up. we are playing with fire right now. commodities are building all over the place which may be due to droughts and speculation, unrelated to fed policy. the point is, japan is doing the same thing we are doing. we have to reverse courses and starting getting back to real

economics. in 2009, first q1, none of the government that has gone up 48%, the amount of gdp growth has gone up a little over 5%. that is a bad trade-off. bernanke told us to rethink buying bonds as a policy. it is not really increasing gdp at all. dagen: would you buy a house, though, right now? >> i live in d.c. i don't see their any cutting any time shortly. we have a tax tsunami coming with obamacare whatever pain are in and the republicans and democrats agree to. that will undoubtedly be tax increases.

dagen: anthony, it was good to see you. be well. we will see you very soon, sir. >> goodbye, connell. connell: i had some good lines prepared today. dagen: here is my christmas card from connell, please use this time of year to remember how lucky you are to work with me. you know what you are getting from me -- connell: nothing. this new google maps app that we actually both have, dagen can use it to go somewhere, it has been downloaded 10 million times in two days. walt mossberg is coming on to tell you why it is so popular. his review is next. dagen: you may be surprised to find out who is selling the most phones. connell: we will find out about that coming up as well.

the market is, kind of, you know, it doesn't know what to make of it so. here are some stocks doing kind of well. we will be right back with walt mossberg. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest, scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade.

connell: markets now. is it bad budget deal actually worth then no deal at all, we will talk about it coming up. instagram hours after the major backlash over its new policy. it is now promising it will not sell your photos. all of this straight ahead.

dagen: stocks now and every 15 minutes. >> serious xm radio is down. the ceo possibly being considered a full-time ceo. with this, this is the investors reaction to that news. we have the dollar down considerably. that is holding some stocks and commodities back a little bit right now. world stock is at a 17 month high. it is certainly boosting global

equities. connell: lauren, thank you. dagen: apple apple's mac disaster, google maps came back on the scene, thankfully with a revamped version of the iphone. connell: with us from d.c. and all things digital is a great walt mossberg. everyone cares what you think. we were pretty impressed by this app. >> i have to say, merry christmas, first of all. [talking over each other]

>> when it did not do well, it was not up to their standards that google would work on and release a new app. the really interesting thing is they took the opportunity to completely redesigned google maps. it is significantly cleaner and smoother and easier to use than the one that they have on their own android phones. it has more features than what they had on the iphone before. i think it is the best map app on a billable phone i have tested. dagen: walt, why would they do that?

>> as i said, this new design, it will migrate to android. i think they did it first on iphone because they saw a big opportunity and they raised to do it. this is a very interesting thing about tech companies. they have this kind of co-op petition they call it where they are fierce competitors, but they also understand that their enemies have big platforms and they can get on those platforms. there are hundreds of millions of apple devices, there are more android devices in the world, but apple was a huge platform and google has all kinds of apps on the iphone. this was very important to them to get on there and get on there

a way it was really attractive. they pulled that off. the users are happy again. just as they were before the mess they had in the problems they had. now, they have these google map paths and everyone is happy again. >> there is two things here. mapping and location are strategic things. steve jobs, before he passed away, decided he had to get into this. google had withheld from its voice prompted turn by turn directions. this is what angered apple to a considerable extent.

apple has a big team working on this. it is improving. if you have another kind of app, let's say, i do not know, some kind of restaurant finder app that has the capability of bringing up a map, it will do it from apple, not google. dagen: walt, happy holidays. >> it says i can get there in four hours in light traffic. dagen: that is lying. connell: walt, thank you very much. we will talk with you soon.

after 14 years, as the number one cell phone brand, no bs, no longer. dagen: shibani joshi has this story. shibani: it plays a very small role. move over, no -- nokia. samsung is now the number one seller in the world of smart phones and cell phones with the 29% market share that it eclipses nokia which had a 30% orchid share last year. apple coming in third place with just 10%.

nokia is placing big bets with microsoft hoping to regain its footing. it is partnering on the window seven operating system. apple not in the top spot. i think that comes as a big surprise to a lot of people. it does not have a low-end offering with the hot and offering. connell: instagram offering apologies to its users. it had many people believing the company would be using pupils photos and advertisements. the company was listening to users complaints. it does not ppan to sell users

photos. they have threatened to cancel their accounts over the terms of services part of the backtracking statement that instagram said, it acted like we all miss read the new terms of service agreement. we know exactly what you are trying to do and you got caught with your pants down. dagen: negotiators still hammering away at the fiscal cliff steele. why no deal may be better than a bad one. connell: we will be right back. ♪

>> i am lori rothman with their your fox business brief. trans canada -- production has halted in that state after a temporary restraining order. it was issued after the land owner claims he was defrauded by the company. price tag 525 million. the sale is a key step to the company's effort to emerge.

although cars moving. consumer complaints said that driving was what they were doing when that glass shattered. that is the latest from the fox business network. giving you the power to prosper. ♪ i always wait until the last minute. can i still ship a gift in time r christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery.

dagen: we are waiting for remarks from president obama. the "wall street journal" is saying the country may be better off with no deal at all rather than a bad deal. connell: let's talk about that with the redinel editorial board member that is here in the studio. thank you for coming in. some say, be very careful for what you wish for. >> i do not think that anything we are wishing for, we do not

get anything out of the way by the compromise that is on the table right now. let's remember what the wholesale questionnaire was about. we have a problem with that and overspending in this country. they wanted to force the politicians to resolve that issue. i do not think you get anything done by just saying, okay, we will raise some taxes here and let's just kick it into the next year. the president actually does want to spend more money in some ways. >> this is a fundamental problem. basically, the whole problem here is that entitlement system. it is too big. it offers too much and it will make us bankrupt. i am not talking about fixing it between now and january, i am talking about fixing the problem

so that the u.s. government is not taking such a big part of what we create and wealth and using it to run government. you have to be able to have a smaller government so that the private sector could create more. that is the real deadlock here. at first, it used to be, call. do you have a sense of how we get past all of this or if we do in the next few months? >> i think we are at a pivotal point if you are born into a super economic status, there is mobility. if we decide, as a nation, because we vote for people who want bigger government that we

will have government taking, say, 25% gdp in taxes, we will have a slower country and the model will look different. opportunities will look different. we will be a different country. the president keeps saying, he won the election, so therefore, he can do what he wants. the republicans won the house and a lot of people who said those republicans to washington sent them there to shrink government. dagen: thank you, mary. connell: we are waiting for the president in his life remarks which you will get to. >> oracle is bullish on 2013. investors are certainly bullish on oracle today. it is up nearly 8% right now. profits better than expected.

they are seeing strength in their software. hardware sales still pretty weak. all in all, several companies coming out raising their price targets. oracle has a solid 2013 and investors like it. dagen: thank you, lauren. connell: getting past all of this fiscal cliff talk. jeff flock talks exclusively with the ceo coming up. we will be right back. dagen: top winners on the nasdaq. take a look. ♪ copd makes it hard to breathe,

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connell: we are back to talk about the largest producer gasoline powered engines in the world. dagen: jeff flock joins us from the company in wisconsin with much more. jeff: i want to ask todd just how worried he is about the fiscal cliff. first, this is a large home standby generator. this market is much more diversified. you make a lot of different engines. how worried are you about the fiscal cliff right now?

>> it ultimately is what happens to the housing market. today's numbers, i would say, were encouraging. maybe not as good as i hoped they would be, but certainly encouraging. jeff: what is your biggest fear about the fiscal cliff? >> my biggest concern is really a deal that puts us into some sort of a recession or affects the housing market. on the other hand, housing in the u.s. is not the only thing that drives our business. there are other things as well. jeff: the market likes your stock right now because of these changes you have made. you have seen big growth in emerging markets. >> that is correct.

between agriculture and infrastructure spending and everything else, we think there is a lot of opportunity. places like brazil, we just closed a deal last week for a construction company that makes very small units, but one that will be a fast growing market for us. jeff: you have big snow coming in and finally in the midwest. you rely on the weather a lot? >> well, we do. obviously, with snowstorms people needing snow throwers. the other thing is, obviously, power generation. jeff: a lot of people thinking about that right now. this is the world center, i think, of power generation. nice to talk to you, todd. dagen: jeff, thank you very much for that. connell: now to barclays getting

bullish on the oil services sector. dagen: sander smith knows it all from the pits of the cme. sandra: oil is flirting with $90 a barrel. the energy sector is one of the best performers today. i have a god who is like barclays very bullish on the sector. >> we have been accumulating halliburton for the past few months. sandra: production levels are significantly higher. it is the threat of more consumption going forward? >> i think we are able to now support ourselves better in the future. i think a lot of people that we would be counting on the middle

east forever. sandra: you say own oil services at these levels. >> yes. 4325 cycles. sandra: there you have it. oil is on quite the run today. a lot of folks very bullish, along with barclays on those stocks. back to you. dagen: please use this time of year to remind yourself of how lucky you are to work with me. that is connell's christmas card to the. connell: merry christmas. dagen: you do not want to miss what is coming up. forget those mayan predictions of the end of the world on friday. connell: cheryl and dennis are coming up in the next hour. ♪ ♪

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>> i am dennis kneale. cheryl: i am cheryl casone of the fiscal cliff taking a bite out of our economy. a survey released showing how much shoppers are already cutting back. dennis: and one bright spot, luxury shopping. we can profit from it in stocking up, the weeklong look at holiday stuff. cheryl: and taking the government out of general motors. the treasury is unloading the automaker. dennis: the top of the hour, stocks every 15 minutes, nicole petallides at the floor of the new york stock exchange. looks like government will be taken out of government motors. nicole: general motors it becomes. the stock up eight and a quarter percent right now. as charles is going to tell you guys, general motors will buy back 200 million of its shares from the treassry department for

$515 billion, that is why the stock is up. they will also unwind over the next 15 months. we have this tight trading more or less, uncertain sentiment going on. the news is good, u.s. housing permits in about four and half years the best levels. business confidence is pretty strong. still, two big days of gains for the dow and s&p 500 especially the nasdaq was really strong yesterday as well. so many traders saying let's just digest these. dennis: i was watching the futures from 4:30 this morning onward. parlaying so nicely and a that e open we head south. is it more fears of the fiscal cliff? nicole: nobody's mentioned the fiscal cliff more than previous days. if we get a back-to-back triple digit run-up on the dow and 1% gains back to back o on the s&p, have got to question it and think maybe we have run-up too

much too soon. they are a nine-month high. cheryl: some breaking news, the president of the united states about to make a major policy announcement. president obama: three days since we gathered the nation to pray for the victims, and today a few more of the small children and educators taken from us laid to rest. we may never know all the reasons why this tragedy happened. we do know every day since, more americans have died of gun violence. we know such violence has terrible consequences for our society. and if there is even one thing that we can do to prevent any of these events, we have a deep obligation, all of us, to try. over these past five days discussion has reemerged as to what we might do not only to

deter mass shootings in the future but to reduce the epidemic of gun violence that plagues this country every single day. and it is encouraging that people of all different backgrounds and beliefs and political persuasions have been willing to challenge and change long-standing positions. that conversation has to continue, but this time the words need to lead to action. we know this is a complex issue that stirs deeply held passions and political divides, and as i said on sunday night, there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. we will need to work in making g access to mental health care at least as easy as access to a gun. a closer look o look at a cultut often glorifies guns and violence. and any actions we must take

must begin inside the home and inside our hearts. but the fact that this problem is complex is no longer an excuse for doing nothing. the fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can steadily reduce the violence. and prevent the very worst violence. that is why i have asked the vice president to lead an effort that includes members of my cabinet and outside organizations to come up with a set of concrete proposals no later than january, proposals i intend to push without delay. this is not some washington commission, this is not something where folks will be studying the issue for six months and publishing a report that gets read and pushed aside. this is a team that has a very

specific task to pull together real reforms right now. i asked joe to lead this effort in part because he wrote in 1994 crime bill that helped law-enforcement bring down the rate of violent crime in this country. that plan, that bill also included the assault weapons ban that was publicly supported at the time by former presidents including ronald reagan. the good news is there is already a growing consensus for us to build from. the majority of americans support banning the sale of military style assault weapons. the majority of americans support banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips. the majority of americans support laws requiring background checks before all gun purchases so chronicle criminalt advantage of legal loopholes to buy gun from somebody who won't take responsibility of doing a background check at all.

i urge the new congress to hold votes on these measures next year in a timely manner. in considering congress hasn't confirmed the director of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms in six years, the agency that works most closely with state and local law enforcement to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals, i'd suggest they make this a priority early in the year. look, like the majority of americans, i believe the second amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. this country has a strong tradition of gun ownership's that has been handed down from generation to generation. obviously across the country there are regional deficit differences between how people feel in urban areas and rural areas. the fact is the vast majority of gun owners in america are responsible, they buy their guns legally and they use them safely. whether for hunting or sport shooting, collection or protection.

but i'm also betting the majority, the vast majority of responsible law-abiding gun owners would be some of the first to say we should be able to keep any responsible lawbreaking few from buying a weapon of war. i'm willing to bet they don't think using a gun and using a common sense or incompatible ideas. that and on balance branch not able to get his hands and military style assault rifle so easily. that in this age of technology we should be able to check someone's criminal records before he or she can check out at a gun show. that if we work harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there'll be fewer atrocities like the one in newtown for any of the lesser-known tragedies that visit small towns and big cities all across america every day. since friday morning, police

officer was gunned down in memphis leaving four children without their mother. two officers were killed outside a grocery store in topeka. the woman was shot and killed inside a las vegas casino. three people were shot inside an alabama hospital. a four-year-old was caught in a drive-by in missouri. taken off life support just yesterday. each one of these americans was a victim of the everyday gun violence that takes the lives of more than 10,000 americans every year. violence that we cannot accept as routine. so i will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. we won't prevent them all, but that can't be an excuse not to try. it won't be easy, but that can't be an excuse not to try.

and i will not be able to do it by myself. ultimately if this effort is to succeed, it will require the help of the american people. it will require all of you. if we're going to change things, it will take a wave of americans, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, pastors, law enforcement, mental health professionals and yes, gun owners, standing up and saying enough, on behalf of our kids. it will take commitment and compromise and most of all it will take courage. if those of us who are sent here to serve the public trust can summon even one tiny iota of the courage of the teachers, the principle of boehner summoned on friday, if cooperation and common sense prevailed, i am convinced we can make a sensible intelligent way

to make united states of america safer, stronger place for our children to learn and to grow. thank you, and now i will let the vice president go and i will take a few questions. and i will start with you. >> thank you, mr. prrsident. would like to ask about the other serious issue containing thconcerning the town. how can you betray some of the voters who supported you in the election by changing your positions on who should get a tax increase and by increasing social security benefits, more broadly missing a deepening sense of negotiations aren't going very well right now. can you give us a candid update, are we likely to go over the fiscal cliff? >> first of all there is no reason why we should. remember what i said during the campaign, i thought it was important for us to reduce our deficit in a balanced and responsible way.

i said it was important for us to make sure that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. i said that we were going to have to make some tough cuts, some tough decisions on the spending side, but what i would not do was hurt vulnerable families only to pay for a tax cut for somebody like me. and what i said was the ultimate package would involve a balance of spending cuts and tax increases. that is exactly what i put forward. what i have said is in order to arrive at a compromise, i am prepared to do some very tough things. some things that some democrats don't want to see and probably few republicans don't want to see either. but the only way that we are going to be able to stabilize the economy, make sure we have a platform for long-term economic

growth that we get our deficit under control, vacatio vacationg middle-class families are protected is we come up with something that members of both parties in congress can support. and that's the plan i put forward. i have gone at least halfway in meeting some of the republicans concerns, recognizing that even though we cannot paint on these issues, even though the majority of americans agree with me that we should be raising taxes on the wealthiest few as a means of reducing the deficit, i have also said i was identified through spending cuts that make sense. and frankly up until about a couple days ag of days ago if yk at it, the republicans in the house and speaker boehner, were in position to say that we have a fair deal.

the fact they haven't taken it yet is puzzling, and a question you'll have to address to them. i remain optimistic though. because if you look at what the speaker has proposed, income tax rates should go up, except right now he only wants to have them go up for millionaires. if you're making a hundred thousand dollars, somehow i think you can't afford to pay a little more in taxes. but the principle that rates will need to go up, he has conceded. i've said i'm willing to make some cuts. what separates us is probably a few hundred billion dollars. the idea that we would put our economy at risk because you can't bridge that gap does not make a lot of sense. so i'm going to continue to talk to the speaker and the other leaders that congress ultimately they've got to do their job. right now their job is to make

sure middle-class tax do not go up, and that we have a balanced responsible package of deficit reduction. it is rare for all to see. it is a deal that can get done. but it is not, it cannot be done if every site wants 100%, and part of what voters are looking for is some compromise up here. that is what folks want. they understand that they're not going to get 100% of what they want. and for some reason that message has not yet taken upon capitol hill. and when you think about what we've gone through over the last couple of months, a devastating hurricane, and now one of the worst tragedies in our memory. the country deserves folks to be

willing to compromise on behalf of the greater good. and not tangle themselves up in a whole bunch of ideological positions that don't make much sense. i remain not only open to conversations, but i remain eager to get something done. i would like to get it done before christmas. there have been a lot of posturing or capitol hill and instead of going ahead and getting stuff done, we have been wasting a lot of time. it is the right thing to do, i am prepared to get it done, but they are going two to go ahead and make some adjustments. and i will give you one other example. the speaker is now proposing plan b. so he says this would raise taxes on the folks making a million dollars or more. what that means is an average of

$50,000 tax break for every million. at the same time we are not% providing unemployment insurance for 2 million people who are still out there looking for work. it means a tax increase for millions of working families across the country at the same time as folks like me would be getting a tax break. that violates the core principles that were debated during the course of this election and that the american people determined was the wrong way to go. and so my hope is the speaker and his caucus in conjunction with the other legislative leaders can find a way to make sure that middle-class families don't do their taxes go up on january 1, that we make sure that those things middle-class families count on like tax credits for college or making sure that they're getting some

help when it comes to raising their kids, things like the child tax credit, that gets done and that we have a balanced package for deficit reduction, which is exactly what i put forward. if you look at the package i put forward, it is a balanced package by any definition, and we have put forward real cuts in spending that are hard to do. in every category. by any measure, any traditional calculation, by the measures that republicans themselves have used in the past, this would be as large a piece of deficit reduction as we have seen in the last 20 years. and if you combine that with increased revenue from the wealthy paying a little bit more, you actually have

something that would stabilize our deficit and debt for a decade. for 10 years. now, the notion that we would not do that, but instead the speaker would want to claim that it keeps tax cuts for folks making 500, 700, 800, $900,000 per year and gives more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, and raises taxes on middle-class families, and then has no cuts which is what he says he wants doesn't make much sense. let's think about the logic for a second, they're thinking about voting for raising taxes at least unfolds over a million dollars, which they say they don't want to do, but they will reject spending cuts that they say they do want to do.

that defies logic. there is no explanation for that. i think any objective person out there looking would say that we put forward a very balanced plan and it is time for us to go and get it done. folks have been through some wrenching times, still recovering from a very tough recession, and what we are hoping for is a sense of stability, focus, compromise, common sense and over the next couple of years. this is a good test for it. okay? >> following that discussion, what is your next move, or in a position you're just waiting for the speaker to make a move? >> i'm going to reach out to all the leaders involved over the next couple of days and find out

what it is that is holding this thing up, what is holding it up. if the argument from republicans is we haven't done enough spending cuts, that argument is not going to fly because we have close to a trillion dollars of spending cuts. and when you add interest, it is more than a trillion dollars in spending cuts. if the argument is they can't increase tax rates on folks making 700, $800,000 per year, that's not a persuasive argument to me and certain not persuasive to the american people. it may be that members of the caucus haven't looked at exactly what we've proposed, maybe we provide more information, or greater specificity or we work

through some of their concerns that we can get some movement there. but the fact of the matter is what would violate my commitment to voters is if i ended up agreeing to a plan that put more of the burden on middle-class families and less of a burden on the wealthy in an effort to reduce our deficit. that's not something i'm going to do. what would violate my commitment to voters would be to put forth a plan that makes it harder for young people to go to college, that makes it harder for family with a disabled kid to care for that kid. there is a threshold that you reach for the balance tips even in making compromises required to get something done in this town. where you're hurting people in order to give another advantage

to folks who don't need help. we had an extensive debate about this for a year, and not only does the majority of the american people relinquish, half of republican voters agree with me on this. at some point there has to be i think a recognition on the part of my republican friends that take the deal. they will be able to claim they have worked with me over the last two years to reduce the deficit more than any deficit reduction package. we will have stabilized it for 10 years, that is a significant achievement for them. they should be proud of it. they should be finding ways to say no rather than finding ways to say yes.

i don't know how much of that has to do with it is very hard for them to say yes to me. but at some point they've got to take me out of it. and think about their voters. and think about what is best for the country. and if they do that, if they are not right about who is winning who's losing, scoring a point on the president, the extract that last little concession, they force him to do something he really doesn't want to do for the heck of it and they focus on what is good for the country, i think we can get this done. >> are you willing to move on the income level, are there specific things? >> i will not get into specific negotiations here.

my point is, carol, if you look at speaker boehner's proposal and you look at my proposal, they're actually pretty close. keep on saying somehow haven't put forward real spending proposals, but there is a graph in "the new york times" today that showed they are the same categories, little bit of tweaks here and there, a few differences but we are right there. on the revenue side there is a difference in terms of them wanting to preserve tax breaks for force between 250-1 million that we can't afford. i would love to not pay as much in taxes, but i also think it is the right thing to do for us to make sure people who have less, people working and striving, people who are hoping for their kids, that they have

opportunity. that is what we can't think about, that is what we talked about. this is not a situation where i am unwilling to cover much, not a situation where i'm trying to rub their faith in anything. i think anybody who looks at this objectively would say coming off my election, if not then at least halfway in order to get something done for the country. and so i noticed there were a couple of headlines saying we are now in the land of political posturing, the usual he said, he said atmosphere. but look at the facts, look at where we started, look at where they started, my proposal is right there in the middle. we should be able to get this done, let's get it done, we don't have a lot of time.

>> thank you, mr. president. what is your level of confidence if you're able to reach a comprehensive deal with the speaker that he will be able to bring his numbers on board to get it passed, do you still trust speaker boehner in this process? president obama: there is no doubt that the speaker has challenges in his caucus, and i recognize that. i'm often reminded to whe when k to republican leadership that the majority of their caucuses membership come from what i lost. sometimes they may not see an incentive in the cooperating with me in part because they're more concerned about challenges from a tea party candidate or challenges from the right and

the cooperating with me may make them vulnerable. i recognize that. if this past week has been done anything, should give us perspective. if there is one thing we should have after this week, it should be a sense of perspective important. i would like to think that members of that caucus would say to themselves you know what, we disagree with the president on a whole bunch of things. we wish the other guy would have won. we will fight him on a whole range of issues over the next four years, we think his philosophy is all screwed up.

but right now with the country needs is for us to compromise, get a deficit reduction in place, but she middle-class taxes don't go up. make sure we're laying the foundations to give certainty to businesses large and small, not put ourselves through some sort of self-inflicted crisis every six months, allow ourselves time to focus on things like event in the tragedy in newtown from happening again. focus on issues like energy and immigration reform, all the things that really make a determination as to the country grows over the next four years, 10 years, 40 years, and if you just pull back from the immediate political battles, if you peel off the partisan

warpaint, we should be able to get something done. i think the speaker would like to get that done, i think an environment needs to be created within not just the house republican caucus, but also among senate republicans to say the campaign is over unless see if we can do what is right for the country at least for the next month. and then we can reengage and all the other battles they want to fight. >> they said they will try to use the debt limit as the next pressure point. we negotiate with them in that contract? president obama: no. i have been very clear in this. this is the united states of america. the world economic superpower, and the idea that we lurch from crisis to crisis and every six

months for every nine months that we threaten not to pay our bills on stuff we have already bought and default and ruin the full faith and credit of the united states of america, that is not how you run a great country. so i put forward a very clear principle, i will not negotiate around the debt ceiling. we are not going to play the same game that we saw happen in 2011. which was hugely destructive. hurt our economy. provided more uncertainty to the business community than anything else that happened. and i am not alone in this. if you go to wall street,

including talking to a whole bunch of folks who spend a whole lot of money trying to beat me, they would say it would be disastrous for us to use the debt ceiling to try and win political points on capitol hill. so we are not going to do that. which is why i think that part of what i hope over the next couple of days we see is a recognition there is a way to go ahead and get what it is you have been fighting for, fighting for spending cuts, can get some very meaningful spending cuts, this would amount to $2 trillion, $2 trillion of spending cuts over the last couple of years, and in exchange getting a little over a trillion dollars in revenue.

that makes the pledge i said during the campaign which is $2.50 of spending cuts for every revenue increase. but i will not negotiate around the debt ceiling, we will not do that again. david jackson. >> as your president, washington commission does not have the best reputation, what makes you think this will be any different given the passage of time and political power of gun rights groups? president obama: this will not be a commission. joe will gather up some key cabinet members who have an interest in this issue, we are going to reach out to a bunch of stakeholders, we will be reaching out to members of congress who have an interest in this issue, it is not as if we

have to start from scratch. there are whole bunch of proposals that have been thought about, debated, but hopefully also some new ideas in terms of how we deal with this issue. their task is to be saved through every good idea out there and even take a look at some bad ideas before disclosing them. come up with concrete negotiations in about a month. i would hope our members that what we saw in newtown isn't lingering with us, we don't remain passionate about it only a month later. and as soon as we get those recommendations, i will be putting forward very specific proposals. i will be talking about them in my state of the union and we will be working with interested

members of congress to try and get something done. the idea that we would say this is terrible, this the tragedy, never again, and we don't have the sustained attention span to be able to get this done over the next several months doesn't make sense. i have more confidence the american people do not. i have more confidence in paris, the mothers and fathers have been meeting over the last several days all across the country from all political persuasions, including a lot of gun owners who say you know what, this time we've got to do things differently. >> what about the nra? president obama: the nra is an organization that has members who are mothers and fathers.

and i would suspect they have been impacted by this as well. hopefully they will do some self reflection. herhere's what we know. any single gun law can solve all these problems. we will have to look at mental health issues, schools, a whole range of things that joe's group looks at. we know issues of gun safety will be an element of it. and what we've seen over the last 20 years, 15 years is the sense that anything related to guns is somehow an encroachment on the second amendment. what we're looking for here is a thoughtful approach that says we can preserve our second amendment, we can make sure that responsible gun owners are able to carry out their activities,

but we will actually be serious about the safety side of this, that we will be serious about making sure that something like newtown or a roa aurora doesn'tn again. visit a good chunk of space from what the second amendment means and having no rules at all. that is what joe is going to be working on to identify where we can find some common ground. i'm going to take one last question. >> it seems to a lot of observers debated political calculations in 2008 in the first term and 2012 not to talk about gun violence. you have a position on renewing

the ban on semiautomatic rifles that joe biden put in place but he didn't do much about it. this is not the first issue, first issue in prolific gun violence of your four years. where have you been? president obama: here's where i have been, jake. president of the united states doing with the worst economic crisis since the great depression, auto industry on the verge of collapse, two wars, i don't think i have been on vacation. i think all of us have to do some reflection on how we prioritize what we do here in washington. and as i said on sunday, this should be a wake-up call for all of us. to say that if we are not getting the need to keep our children safe, then nothing else matters.

and it is my commitment to make sure that we do everything we can to keep our children safe. a lot of things are involved in that, jake. making sure they have decent health care, making sure they have a good education, making sure that their parents have jobs, those are all relevant as well. those aren't just side issues. but there is no doubt that this has to be a central issue, and that is exactly why i'm confident joe will take this so seriously the next couple of months. thank you, everybody. dennis: president obama making a new call to action for gun violence naming vice presidents joe biden to oversee to devise a plan by the end of january and submitting to congress without delay. the congress saying he wants outside organizations involved, possible nod perhaps to the national rifle association. president obama citing a

possible ban on high-capacity clips, a renewed ban on assault weapons and new backgrn purchas. the press seemed more interested on his latest comments on the fiscal cliff, which is a lot more of the same. stocks now every 15 minutes, your reaction on the stock exchange. >> take a look at these games. smith & wesson up more than 8% right now gaining back the 10% that loss on tuesday. if you look at a one-week chart of smith & wesson for instance, they had $11 in december coming down quite a bit and getting a little bit of it back today. also, putting in a 6% performance to the upside today. like i said, stocks overall a little bit flat on this wednesday morning. we are digesting two big days of gains and also watch a drop in the dollar.

back to you. cheryl: thank you very much, we will see you very soon. the markets not reacting to that statement from the white house and the president, but certainly many of the questions from the reporters once again were over the fiscal cliff directed at the president and the fiscal cliff at this point we're just finding out today pushing a third of americans to cut back on personal spending over the past month according to research we just got, senior financial advisor. i want to bring you into this particular because listening to the president most of the questions were about the fiscal cliff and at one point the president said my republican friends should just take thee3 deal. you're fighting americans are saying enough is enough, i'm holding onto my cash. >> you're right, we've known for months businesses have been holding back on hiring decisions, pulling back from capital investment, but now we find out consumers are holding back, one in three americans say just in the last 30 days they have cut back on their spending

specifically because of concerns about the fiscal cliff, and not necessarily tax increases or spending cuts come as much of it is the macro view, what happens if the economy goes into a recession. that is not the type of thing that encourages confidence for people to spend and they are holding onto cash. cheryl: the news media and the coverage we're seeeng with regards the fiscal cliff causing consumers to be concerned but he said it wasn't just about a spending cut, you say this about the debt, the financial situation worse than a year ago. can we just point to the cliff on this? >> we did see a big decline in terms of how people see about the financial security and each of those components. saving, debt, net worth, overall financial situation. we saw a big decline in november after the election was resolved, we did not have that uncertainty to blame and another big decline in december, lowest point of the year.

why the big turnaround from where we were a couple of months ago i think she was a clear indication consumers focus has shifted to this fiscal cliff and one in three americans has cut t back spending as a result back that up. cheryl: one in three americans is a pretty big number but consumer confidence more than 11%, but you have been tracking these numbers for years, consumer behavior, were you surprised at all by the impact of the fiscal cliff discussion on consumer response, consumer spending? in all your years of doing this. >> not surprised, but one in three is alarming. just for reference, back in 2011 after the debt ceiling debacle and downgrade, 40% of americans at that time said they had to cut back on spending and a point we thought we were headed into a recession.

cheryl: i think most americans are ready for a deal. thank you for the new data. appreciate it. >> thank you, cheryl. dennis: says the recession we have so justly tried to avoid could happen anyway. the chief investment strategist, joining us now. state your case, sir. >> clearly the cbo has scored the impact of the fiscal cliff at $600 billion loss fo of fiscl trust in 2013. if we roll over the cliff and it goes unattended, it will start extracting, if you will, physical activity from the economy and we could go from basically 2% of gdp growth rate press much as minus 2% gdp growth rate which is recessionary. it may take sometime to get it there, but that is likely to

occur as we know both sides as we have heard the president speaking still a ways apart. dennis: and yet despite the bleak outlook and the possibility of recession the matter what they do, you're not reaching into your portfolio, why is that? >> i think what is going to happen is there'll b there willa resolution to the fiscal cliff and the outcome will probably be a 1% to 1.5% haircut. with an uptick in business investment that i think will come through the relief of this uncertainty associated with this event, albeit talked about previously are still spending at a decent pace, confidence is resuming overall, and collectively cooperation from the housing market is going to lead to an uptick in activity which will be fertile ground for corporate activity which is already at all-time highs to continue to grow and allow for financial assets, particularly

stocks to be rewarded. dennis: okay. given the overall writing better outlook, if we do go over the cliff for a few weeks and the dow plummets 500, 1000 points, you feel they ought to buy in because ultimately stocks will go back up? >> i do. it would be an opportunity actually to celebrate cash into the market instead of fading it in overtime to that is somebody's predisposition because economi the economic fundamentals are still supported. dennis: thank you so much for being with us. good job, sir. cheryl: we continue. a lot going on on "markets now." find out more in th the "west ct minute" coming up. dennis: we have the amazing kreskin here to tell us more about the fiscal cliff. he is ahead.

morning without a fiscal cliff resolution there is an increased likelihood it could strip the% u.s. of the aaa status. that is its already downgraded from aaa status last year by rival. and housing slowed more than expected in november after three months of gains. on the upside, building permits rose at the fastest pace since july 2008. an indication the housing market is continuing its strong rebound. shares of knight capital on the rise after agreeing to be sold to rival petco for $1.4 billion in cash and stock. the ceo expects to remain listed on the new york stock exchange. that is latest from the fox business network giving you the power to prosper.

lauren: welcome back. stocks every 15 minutes. jim shares hitting a new annual high today of $27.91, not far from that right now up 8%. general motors moving the camaro production to michigan, lansing, michigan, from canada. that is good news for the state workers there. a lot of news on gm today, talked about trying to shu shede government loaners monitor. gm and fully intend to sell the rest of the stake in the company over the next 15 months. that is the news, selling off the stock hitting annual highs today such as oracle, a lot of news attached to those overall. kind of a lackluster day.

the nasdaq up by five, the s&p down by a fraction, a point and a half but we had to back days of gains. there is some impressions in the market. they're just making traders think we had the santa claus rally, maybe we should take a moment to step back and digest it a little bit. back to you. dennis: people looking to get their blind faith no longer have to leave the comfort of their own home. try to stand out using customizable ones. joining us, cofounder of velvet. he opened the new business for one and already sold 2000 bottles. i would think you'd be pretty pleased with that success, how did you do it? >> it is members only, we

represent where you can buy hard-to-find wines from all over, we do it because it is a gateway providing unlimited access, and what we do is it is a personal experience, so instead of you going to be one store, you can now have it at home. dennis: the middle of next year only six months from now to have sold a total of 5 million bottles and discounts of 40 to 60%. how do you manage to cut loss so much? >> we work directly with the winery and because we have that relationship with the winery we don't have all the challenges to market up. dennis: you don't have to mark it up as much.

give us a quick example of when i go to your wine site, what makes it personal as compared to amazon.com? >> we have wine experts, they can answer any of your questions. we had have a number that was looking for a white wine because she wanted to enjoy it with her friends but her friend was more into the old stuff, so recommended her to go for the right one. dennis: thank you for being with us. good luck with the new business. >> thank you. cheryl: coming up on "markets now," you don't want to miss this one. forget the mayan predictions on friday, the amazing kreskin with what you really need to worry about coming up next year. keeping our eye on the market, and take a look at the winners over on the nasdaq with a few winners looking kind of red. we will be right back. i always wait until the last minute.

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dennis: the mayan apocalypse, the world is coming to an end on friday. cheryl: forget that, you need to worry about the fiscal cliff. joining us, the amazing kreskin. [talking over each other] cheryl: we are not supposed to be worried? >> i made one of the most dramatic predictions in my life and it unfolded the day after election day. jimmy fallon opened a package in which there were three other copies that i wrote out a one-year, four months ago, on when i thought would be the results of this election.

it turned out to be the most dramatic thing in my life. i had predicted that democrats would win. i also took a shot in predicted you would be running on the republican ticket feared i when robbie was finally picked a month after i wrote this, i thought how would i live through this. i respect these people who believe and have colds and what have you and believe in these prophecies. why are you not giving all your money and your food. otherwise, you are only conning

yourself. i will tell you how i feel about the end of the world, saturday, i am having a party celebrating the end of the world. cheryl: and we are invited. dennis: they give very much. the amazing kreskin. the amazing kreskin book is on conversations with kreskin is now out. cheryl: it is great to have you on. the president did speak during this part of our show. he is the person of the year, everyone. melissa and lori are coming up in the next hour of markets now. ♪